punjabi thali

i cooked last night after almost two weeks. though i was dead tired at the end of yet another exhausting week at work, the only thing that perked me up was the idea of whipping up a full course meal. so we skipped going to the gym (bad call), cancelled our plans to see da vinci code and ended up staying indoors in the anticipation of a nice home cooked dinner.

h doesn't usually request that i cook indian food so i jumped on the opportunity when he said he was in the mood for baingan bartha and mirchi ka salan. don't know how these randomly popped into his head but it certainly made it easier for me to decide the menu. i quickly scanned my cookbooks and noted the ingredients, did a quick trip to waitrose to buy what was needed and then got started.

i made baingan bartha first because i just i love the aroma of baingan (eggplant) roasting on the gas flame. i then made masoor dal with spinach. and the last dish i prepared was mirchi ka salan from red peppers as green ones were not available last night at waitrose. i served each of in a katori on a big thali along with yogurt and onions. i used ready-made parathas as i was running out of energy after an hour and a half in the kitchen.

overall, i have to admit that it was a bit over the top. each dish turned out rather well but they are individually so rich that we were unbelievably stuffed at the end of the meal. i don't think i can manage to eat more than one punjabi dish at a time. no more punjabi thalis for me!